The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. Originally intended for New York City progressives, its readership is now national. For anyone who wants to be alerted by email whenever this newsletter is updated (usually weekly), please send your email address and let me know what state you live in (so I can keep track of my readership).

LeftyBlogs Illinois is the place to find out what's happening in the progressive blogosphere across Illinois.

The Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center is a grassroots organization committed to using media production and distribution as tools for promoting social and economic justice in the Champaign County area. We foster the creation and distribution of media, art, and narratives emphasizing underrepresented voices and perspectives and promote empowerment and expression through media and arts education.

Equality Illinois: The Mission of Equality Illinois is to secure, protect and defend equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Illinois.

Illinois Democratic Network: Independent grassroots organization of progressives, liberals and moderates promoting an activist democratic agenda in the state of Illinois.

Illinois Campaign for Political Reform: Reform is so important for BOTH parties, particularly in a state like Illinois. The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) is a non-partisan public interest group that conducts research and advocates reforms to promote public participation in government, address the role of money in politics and encourage integrity, accountability, and transparency in government.

Equality Illinois First FridayMonthly at 6pm on the first FridaySidetrack, 3349 N. Halsted Street, Chicago(21 and over, with I.D.)For a $10 donation to Equality Illinois, you receive two drink tickets and a ticket for a door prize drawing. Contributions to this event support the Equality Illinois Political Action Committee.

From the ballot box to the classroom, the dedicated workers, organizers, and leaders who forged this great organization and maintain its status as a champion of social justice, fought long and hard to ensure that the voices of African Americans would be heard. For nearly one hundred years, it has been the talent and tenacity of NAACP members that has saved lives and changed many negative aspects of American society.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is the LARGEST and the OLDEST, the BADDEST and the BOLDEST, the MOST LOVED and MOST HATED, the MOST FEARED and MOST REVERED, the MOST CUSSED and the MOST DISCUSSED Civil Rights organization in America.

The Hispanic Political Action Committee of Illinois is a progressive organization of Hispanics that was formed in 2010. Since its formation, the Hispanic PAC has screened and endorsed several state, county and city candidates. The Hispanic PAC is lead by an Executive Board of local Hispanic leaders and offers individuals and contributors an opportunity to work on advancing the political power and well being of all Hispanics in Illinois.

The mission of the Hispanic Political Action Committee of Illinois is to advance the active participation of Hispanics throughout the State of Illinois in the political process.

The Illinois Democratic Network has many local Yahoo Groups for activists to use for local organizing. Check out their list and sign up for the one covering your area. It is a great way to learn what is going on and to connect with fellow activists in your area. Go to the IDN website and click on your local Yahoo group listed on the right hand side of the screen.

DFA-Evanston North Shore: This website serves our DFA-Evanston and North Shore community. Our meetings are usually on the first Monday of each month at the Celtic Knot, 626 Church St, Evanston 60201. Show up or sign up for more info.

Northside DFA: Northside DFA is a diverse group of dedicated volunteers working to elect socially progressive, fiscally responsible, and ethically committed Democrats to office at all levels of government. We are active in many local races and focus our energies on working for progressive candidates.

We meet the first Thursday of every month, and we organize weekly volunteer activities supporting our adopted candidates. Sign up for one of our events and get involved!

Greater Lincoln Park DFA: This chapter serves the Lincoln Park community of Chicago, IL. We're requesting a $20/year membership to cover the expenses of the organization and its activities. Sign up here for more info.

Naperville/Aurora DFA: There are something like 400 DFA members just in Naperville and Aurora! This group hopes to bring those of us living in the Naperville/Aurora area together for some good old fashioned political activism! Sign up here for more info.

DeKalb, Illinois * Every other Tuesday, 8:30 pm onward * O'Leary's Irish Pub, 260 E Lincoln Hwy (On the Corner of 3rd and Lincoln Hwy) * Parking is available on 3rd St. in the public lot across the tracks. * Hosted by Kevin Malone, dekalb (at) drinkingliberally.org

Evanston, Illinois * Every Wednesday, 7:00 pm onward * The Celtic Knot, 626 Church St (Half block east of Orrington) * For the upcoming holiday season we're not planning on meeting the week of Thanksgiving or during the month of December * Hosted by Mark Foisy, Rich Heath and Adelaide Rowe, evanston (at) drinkingliberally.org

* Illinois ranks 8th in existing wind capactity at 744-megawatts, and has 5,500-megawatts of planned wind power in development.

* In 2006, the state produced nearly 600,000-megawatt hours of electricity from biomass - that's enough to power almost 65,000 homes per year!

* Illinois has a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) that requires all public utilities to generate 25% of their electricity from renewable energy resources by 2025, with at least 18.75% from wind by 2013.

Alternative energy and YOUR energy bill: YOU can be part of the solution for America by signing up to purchase your energy through a Green Power Provider. My wife and I have been doing this in NYC for years. All our energy usage is provided through wind energy generation on American farms. So we use clean energy AND help American farmers. It costs us three cents per kilowatt-hour more per month, but we feel great about it. Although our actual energy may come from anywhere, we are paying to purchase wind energy for the energy grid. Each state has different programs available, usually through yuor existing energy provider right on your existing energy bill. To find such options in Illinois, go here and pick your energy provider from the list. If you need help, you can email me and tell me who you get your bill from (don't give me any other info!) and I can tell you who to contact to go green through that energy provider. Or you can do the same thing using Renewable Energy Certificates through an organization that works with utility companies, though in this case it is a separate bill. One off the cheapest (.4-1 cent per kilowatt-hour), but still e-Green certified, ways to do this is through Good Energy. Or, for about half a cent per kilowatt-hour you can purchase renewable energy certificates through Carbonfund.org. ANY of these ways you do it, you are helping the environment, helping America, and helping cut carbon emissions.

BIODIESEL: Biodiesel is clean, AMERICAN fuel that could be fueling many of our trains, trucks and diesel cars, as well as being used for heating fuel. All that while supporting American farmers, not Saudi oil shieks.

Meet other local people who are interested in making their homes environmentally friendly. As developers, designers, and brokers of Green Homes, we are a great resource to learn more about what you can do today to become more sustainable and green! Sign up to find out more about meetings.

Chicago Sustainable Development & New Urbanism Meetup GroupMeet other local people who are interested in Sustainable Development and New Urbanism.

Let's define what we mean by "sustainable," "energy-efficient," "green," etc. and then work toward making it happen here in Chicago! What are the building blocks of "sustainability?" What are the most important issues that need to be addressed? What issues are important to you when you look at your home, your neighborhood and your city? What actions can we take to effect true change that benefits everyone? We hope to answer these questions through conversations with local experts and other community members.

Let's work toward having more energy-efficient, healthy and "sustainable" options when looking for a new home. Let's create neighborhoods that are of human scale, cohesive and prepared for the future. Let's restore our urban fabric and communities!

It took nearly 7 years living within a few blocks of one of the biggest food co-ops in America before Joy and I joined it. We were definitely reluctant. But, in the end the lack of good produce and the decline of our local supermarkets led to us joining. And the result is a slighly more inconvenient shopping trip each week, but much healthier, higher quality and cheaper food. I recommend joining a co-op if there is one nearby. You will save money and eat healthier. So I will list some local food co-ops in Illinois:

The foundation of our co-op is rooted in this community. In 1980, we began as a network of neighborhood buying clubs. We used a 3/4-ton flatbed truck to drive to Madison, Wisconsin to pick up the groceries directly from the distributor. The trip was long and ended with delivering the orders to various people, who would then act as distributors for their neighbors.

In 1985 we became an actual store front, taking the place of Mr. Naturals, which was the privately owned natural foods store in the area at the time, located at 102 East Jackson.

...in 2005, we were bursting at the seams yet again! We began making plans to move to a new 12,000 square foot space in Murdale Shopping Center. We spent the next several months raising money from our ownership ($345,000) and securing financing to help fund the 1.5 million dollar store. In this new dream store, we were able to become a full-service grocery and cafe, operate a teaching kitchen for cooking classes and events and we continue to specialize in products that are organic, locally produced or fairly traded.

Incorporated in 1974 as a not-for-profit entity, Duck Soup was originally a member only, pre-order buying club. As the Coop grew, we were able to operate as a storefront outlet where purchases could be made from stock inventory. In 1990, the membership voted to open the store to the public as well as members.

In addition to making natural foods available to the DeKalb Community, Duck Soup is a democratically managed business, where all members have the opportunity to take an active role in selecting product lines, setting pricing structures, and contributing to operational decisions. Duck Soup was designed to operate in the interest of consumers. There is no stock or private financial interest in the business. All of our current inventory, equipment and assets have been provided by member work contributions, equity and fee contributions, and surplus income generated from sales.

West Central Illinois Food Cooperative is a not for profit natural foods Co-op located in Galesburg, Illinois serving people in Knox and Warren County. We are affiliated with United Natural Foods. United Natural Foods has a warehouse in Iowa City.

We are a small food coop with about 20 to 30 families at any one time. Our monthly orders average about$2,000 - $3, 000. We have been operating as a Co-op since 1982. We do not have any one that earns a salary. All of our work is performed by members who work the different jobs as part of their monthy obligation. Working Members pay a 1% mark up from the wholesale price in the Catalog. We have nonworking members. They pay a 10% mark up. Please explore the various links on our site for additional information about the Co-op and United Natural Foods. You can also get additional information at United Natural Foods Buying Clubs site at www.unitedbuyingclubs.com

Everyone is welcome to visit the SSFC during normal business hours. Don't forget to visit our Resale shop. We have guest passes available in order for you to make a purchase, however only one per household per year will be accepted. Ownership/Membership is required for additional opportunities to buy products including local, organic, wheat free, vegan, gluten free, and other health-conscience merchandise. If you too like the atmosphere and want to live a "greener" lifestyle, stop by.

Stone Soup is a housing cooperative, founded in 1997, with three houses in Chicago's Uptown and McKinley Park neighborhoods. We are a diverse community of 35 people, who are committed to living with joy and justice in everything we do. So take a look around the site. Come by for a potluck. We'd love to meet you!

Here are some other Groups and Events in Illinois:

Illinois Recycling Association is the only collective voice for recycling on critical waste management issues facing this state. We represent your interests at the state level. For a more complete idea of what the Illinois Recycling Association does, check out our Mission Statement and Goals on our Mission Page. Go here to see upcoming events.

The Illinois Tenth Congressional District Democrats is a volunteer group that has formed to help elect Democrats at all levels of government within Illinois' Tenth Congressional District. The district includes portions of both Cook and Lake Counties stretching from Wilmette on the south through Waukegan and from Lake Michigan west through parts of Arlington Heights and Palatine. Check here for upcoming events. You can also email them for more info: info_at_tenthdems.org

Chicago Center for Inquiry: Center For Inquiry/Chicago is a not-for-profit organization that nurtures and inter-connects Chicagoland's growing community of secular humanists and free inquirers. We are dedicated to inquiring into and striving to improve all aspects of the human condition. Go here to see their calendar of events.